Whatever approximation a Clipper fan might have of Corey Maggette's Basketball I.Q., or Mike Dunleavy's competence, or the precise effect of Quinton Ross' presence on the court, there's virtual unanimity among the Naçion about one thing: The team's fortunes in the foreseeable future will rise and fall with Shaun Livingston's development. It's the one irrefutable truism, no matter where you stand on the other big questions.

So when Shaun's patella pops out and he crumples to the floor in the opening minutes of the game, there's more at stake than the "Jeez, I hope he's okay" that usually punctuates a moment like this. Apart from anything he may or may not embody to a fan or spectator, Shaun is a 21-year-old kid who must be terrified beyond delirium when he feels his leg snap like a toothpick. He deserves the compassion of every basketball well-wisher.

Whether it's fair or not, Shaun also embodies something larger. Shaun has been carrying around the hopes of the Naçion since he was drafted in 2004. On Saturday, he put together what might be the most professional game of his career - a 14 point, 14 assist effort against Golden State. Following the game, Mike Dunleavy said, "Until I tell him to pull back, I want him to push the ball every time and I want him to explore. I want him to use his abilities. That's what could take us to another level." And that's exactly what Shaun is doing in the first quarter when he picks up a steal at the other end and initiates the break with Raymond Felton in pursuit. Four seconds later, Shaun is on the hardwood.

**********

When Corey Maggette comes off curls, or cuts off the ball from the weak side, or runs that little give-and-go with Elton along the baseline, he's a slashing Ninja. That's the kind of stuff he employs tonight and, in exchange, he picks up 19 points from the stripe in 20 attempts. Fewer isolations and clear-outs, more touches for everyone else, and there's still 25 points for the taking.

Watching Elton Brand work against a guy who has five inches on him reaffirms how important an effective Kaman is to the Clippers' success on the offensive end. You think things might go a little differently for Elton tonight if he's dealing with Gerald Wallace and not Primoz Brevec? The good news is that Chris looks great: 5-7 FG, 10 points in 12 minutes. Come to think of it, there's some sense in locking Chris in his house every nine weeks or so, turning off all refrigeration, clearing his cupboard, and hooking up an I.V. as his only source of nourishment. Give him five days of pure schvitz, then return to regularly scheduled programming.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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Comments

All prayers go out to Livingston. With respect to his smarts and courage, I've always thought he's as good as anyone his age. His body has scared me though. A great deal of NBA'ers have the bodies of NFL'ers. With all the stretched out, air-born, vulnerable positions which a part of the NBA game, Shaun's lithe frame doesn't stand a chance.

this is erie, but fox sports is playing "before the bigs: Shaun Livingston". I feel so bad for Shaun, the human body should not be able to do what his leg did last night. With his work ethic though, he'll be back soon. However, we might need to temper all the magic Johnson comparisons, b/c now each of his knees have been dislocated.

Shaun is getting an MRI now, which will determine whether it was a dislocated knee or a knee-cap. Let's hope it's the knee-cap, which is the exact same injury he had to the other knee two years ago. That being said, 3 seasons and 3 dislocations, you got to feel bad for the guy. He's out this season, but I'm not sure the season is over. Sure, he was good at times, but more often than not he was inconsistent, and if Elton got hurt (knock on wood), there goes the season. I think we can still rally and make the playoffs. However, with Sam leading the point, Terry and Nash would eat us alive.
Maybe Gary Grant can come out of retirement.

Livingston's blow out of his knee was a by-product of him skipping college and going straight to the bigs. He never quite learned how to dunk on the fly.

His injury wasn't a freak accident. He put himself in an awkward landing postion. Rather than using both feet to land and going with the flow of his momentum, he chose unwisely to land with his only his foward foot while trying to resist his momentum and turning his foot sideways. A simple human physics lesson that he learned the hard way.

This wasn't the first awkward dunk attempt for Shaun. He almost blew out his knee a few weeks ago on another flying uncontested dunk. It was only a matter of time.

Sad, but not surprising. Even if he comes back healthy, his head will probably be screwed up for some time. We'll see.....